Page 24 of Welcome to Gothic
Vince walked over, his arm around Roy’s shoulders, his gaze still clinging to Wendy’s face. “Have we met before?”
For a moment, she wondered if he shared her memories. “Here in town?”
“No, I just arrived in Gothic. It’s my first time here. But Roy and I are close.”
“He saved me from kidnapping!” Roy piped up.
Wendy took a step back and almost fell over a box of books.
Vince caught her arm and held her upright.
“Thanks. Grace Coordinated, that’s me.” Of course, she usuallywascoordinated. In her job, it was a necessity. But with him standing there, she hardly knew how to put one foot after another, and with his hand on her arm, she was afraid she’d melt into a puddle of molten lava and scorch the antique hardwood floor.
“Kidnapping?” Ariel was happy to be curious for them all. “Who kidnapped you, Roy?”
“My dad. He’s, um, not a nice man.”
So that was the shadow on Roy’s young life.
Roy continued, “Today my mom had to go away. She’s getting a restraining order on him.”
Vince winced. “His dad is the family’s... black sheep, to put it nicely—every family’s got one.”
All the parents nodded, and Deputy Dave said, “With us, it’s Ariel’s sister. What a head case.”
Ariel jabbed him with her elbow hard enough to make him wince, and asked brightly, “Shall we start the game?”
“Right, first obstacle is the bookshelves. You have to run through the maze, grab a bag, bring it back to your parent—” she looked at Roy “—your adult, and use whatever is inside to decorate them. Is everyone ready?”
The kids nodded.
The parents moaned.
Wendy pointed her finger at an overly enthusiastic eleven-year-old. “You! Emma! Be careful of the littler ones.”
Emma sat back from her sprinting rabbit stance. “Okay, Wendy.”
She grinned and punched her arm. “Good girl. Now go!”
The kids ran through the bookshelves, shrieking and laughing, and came back to fling a cloak over one parent, a feather boa around another, a grass skirt, a coconut bra...
The kids looked at their adults and laughed uproariously.
It was exactly what Wendy intended. She waited until they were fairly calm to announce, “Next we’re going to jump the book boxes, one by one, until we get to the far side. Grab a bag, jump back and dress your adult. One at a time, please, youngest to oldest! Go!”
Roy jumped, laughing all the way.
Wendy somehow found herself standing next to Vince. Vince, who was not Hugh. “He’s a great kid,” she said.
“He is.” All an uncle’s fondness was in his tone.
“Very athletic. For a karate beginner, he picked up on the moves quickly.”
“I’ve worked with him a bit.”
That made sense. Because like Hugh, this man who was called Vince was built like a guy who knew his way around the security arts. “You’re a self-defense practitioner?”
“In my business, it’s helpful.”
